Day 11 - Friday 23rd July
Beak Hills to Glaisdale
21miles: 9h 15mins
Woken at 5:15am by the farmer starting his tractor. Apparently
Steve had requested the early morning alarm call as we had a long day ahead!
Away at 7:15am. What a glorious day. We spoke with two people from Sheffield
who were out for a walk. The going was good if somewhat tedious along the
dismantled railway and by 11:15 we reached the Red Lion which was a scene
of devastation which had resulted from a 'music festival' the night before.
Litter everywhere. Ordered a shandy and a sandwich for lunch - superb- and
were away again after about an hour. We kept spotting bright green caterpillars
in the middle of the path. Why they should expose themselves so blatantly
to predators was and is a mystery. By 2:30pm I was starting to feel tired
and had a swelling on my left shin. I had noticed a stinging sensation just
before we left the campsite that morning so perhaps it was an insect bite.
Two Germans passed us going in the opposite direction. They had started yesterday
and stayed overnight in Grosmont. Our progress slowed and the final couple
of miles into Glaisdale was agony for us all. We reached the B&B that
Stella had booked by 4:30pm. The bath I took was nirvana. After it I fell
asleep for around an hour and only just woke in time for 'Dave', the owner,
to ferry us down to the pub, where his wife worked, for a meal. Dave stood
at the bar drinking a worrying amount given that he would be driving us home
later! The food was excellent. An American woman and her two daughters, whom
Stella and Steve had previously encountered, were eating and staying there
and we chatted with them during the meal. Today the sea was much closer and
we could clearly see how much further we had to go. We hoped we could make
it tomorrow. Back at the B&B by 9:00pm and after phoning Gemma and David
fell quickly to sleep.
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